Less than a month after the University of Wisconsin-Madison dropped Nike due to poor working conditions in Honduras, the company is making some changes.
Nike to pay Honduran workers after UW takes stand
WKOW-TV 27
Category: Business/Technology
Nike Agrees to Help Laid-Off Workers in Honduras
New York Times
Facing pressure from universities and student groups, the apparel maker Nike announced on Monday that it would pay $1.54 million to help 1,800 workers in Honduras who lost their jobs when two subcontractors closed their factories.
Campus Connection: UW-Madison helps persuade Nike to reverse course
Capital Times
Reacting in part to pressure applied by UW-Madison, athletic apparel giant Nike has agreed “to help improve the lives of workers affected by the Hugger and Vision Tex factory closures in Honduras.”
….”I think this is one of the biggest victories that the student anti-sweatshop movement has had,” says Jane Collins, a UW-Madison professor of community and environmental sociology, and author of the 2003 book “Threads: Gender, Labor and Power in the Global Apparel Industry.”
“This is precedent-setting. Nike does not very often admit that it did something that needed fixing,” adds Collins, who also is a member of the university’s Labor Licensing Policy Committee.
Next ag secretary must be a fighter for farms and food
Capital Times
The death of Rod Nilsestuen, who drowned Wednesday while swimming in Lake Superior, leaves a huge hole in state government.
Of all the tributes to Nilsestuen, I was particularly struck by what Molly Jahn, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, had to say….
Jahn would be an appealing choice, although she is just back from a stint as deputy undersecretary of research, education and economics in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Just Ask Us: Why does Camp Randall no longer host major concerts?
Wisconsin State Journal
Camp Randall hasn?t hosted any concerts since 1997, but the UW Athletic Department is still open to it if the opportunity presents itself. Justin Doherty, UW?s assistant athletic director for external relations, said there haven?t been many opportunities in recent years, but the department would consider hosting a concert if it made financial sense and scheduling worked out, since there are activities going on in the stadium year-round.
Hmong presence growing at Farmer’s Market
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Farmers markets are especially important for recent immigrants, said Alfonso Morales, an assistant professor of urban and regional planning at UW-Madison and an expert on public markets. A market, such as the Dane County Farmers? Market, where shoppers pay a premium, gives the Hmong a better outlet than a roadside stand or another farmers? market because of its great reputation and its large, affluent customer base.The income they make frequently gets plowed back into their operations and paid forward through investment in their children, he said.
Biz Beat: Think of UW sheepskin as an “export”
Capital Times
Say what you want about soaring tuition or bloated salaries at the UW, but education is considered one of Madison?s key exports, according to a new national report.
The Brookings Institution in a report released today called “Export Nation: How U.S. Metros Lead National Export Growth and Boost Competitiveness” ranks the economic impact of export activity in the nation?s 100 largest metropolitan areas.
Biz Beat: Big city density
Capital Times
With a combination of older rental homes, a 1970s cement block apartment building and several redevelopment projects, the 400 block of West Dayton Street offers a curious mix of real estate.
Now one of the street?s most active landlords — Dan Bohl — is pursuing a four-story, four-flat “walk up” student apartment at 431 W. Dayton. The brick building would have a total of 23 bedrooms, making it one of the city?s most dense developments by that measure.
Property Trax: Feds provide new help, with local flavor, for unemployed at risk of foreclosure
Wisconsin State Journal
With unemployment rates still stubbornly high and likely to stay that way for awhile, the federal government is offering a new program to help those who aren?t working save their homes. And it bears a striking resemblance in concept to a plan advanced months ago by UW-Madison real estate experts. The program is similar to an idea developed by UW-Madison professor Stephen Malpezzi and some others in the university?s real estate department.
Madison company has eye on traffic so you can avoid jams ahead
Wisconsin State Journal
That Bluetooth device for your cell phone or laptop computer can do more than just make a connection. TrafficCast International in Madison has found a way to use the wireless devices to show the real-time flow of traffic, whether it?s on some of the nation?s busiest stretches of highway or the smallest back road. TrafficCast was founded in 1996 by Connie J. Li and her husband, Bin Ran, both traffic engineers; Ran is on the engineering faculty at UW-Madison.
Wanted: investments for job creation
Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin may be facing a $2.5 billion budget gap, but that?s no excuse for failing to make the investments required to improve the economy. A growing economy ? producing jobs, income and tax revenue ? is the best way to close any budget gap as well as offer expanding opportunities to residents. That?s the spirit in which lawmakers should consider proposals to shore up one of Wisconsin?s glaring weaknesses in the competition for economic success ? a scarcity of money to bankroll young businesses. Dane County?s thriving biotechnology business community, much of it based on ideas from UW-Madison research, is an example. In fact, UW-Madison makes Wisconsin a prime candidate to generate the ideas and entrepreneurs to be matched with venture capital. The university annually ranks among the top five universities in the country in attracting research dollars.
Oshkosh company banking on big things from tiny nanoparticles (Oshkosh Northwestern)
A small, nearly-invisible Oshkosh company is poised to make huge leaps in energy storage capacity thanks to the small, nearly invisible particles it creates. Oshkosh Nanotechnology LLC plans to use ceramic nanomaterials it makes in labs at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh to help expand energy storage capacities in high-tech batteries called supercapacitors. Dr. Charles Gibson, a chemistry professor at UWO since 1992, hopes to spin the company off from the university soon to spur business development and high-tech job creation in Northeast Wisconsin.
Time for Wisconsin to invest in innovation
The Wisconsin Technology Council will publish a new set of white papers this month including bold ideas to stimulate venture capital investment in the state.
Inevitably, some may question Wisconsin?s ability to afford these proposed programs.
But the better question is whether we can afford not to pursue new ideas as we try to transform the economy. We have no shortage of innovations. We have one of the world?s greatest research universities, one that became increasingly entrepreneurial in the 1990s. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation began accepting equity in lieu of upfront fees for University of Wisconsin-Madison spinoffs at that time and began investing directly near the end of the decade. Initiatives such as the Burrill Business Plan Competition helped to create a more entrepreneurial culture.
WISPIRG?s Johanna Lathrop: UW students to thank Sen. Kohl on financial reform Thursday
Capital Times
Dear Editor: UW students will thank Sen. Herb Kohl on Thursday, July 8, for supporting Wall Street reform and will encourage him to vote with Main Street, not Wall Street, on the final vote on the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act later in July. They?ll meet at 11:30 a.m. outside Kohl?s Madison office at 14 W. Mifflin St., Suite 207. If it?s raining, meet in the hallway outside Kohl?s office.
Does Dean Foods have unfair advantage?
Capital Times
Sassy Cow Creamery just celebrated its second anniversary. Last year, looking to get its name out there, the dairy landed a contract to supply milk to a high-profile Madison event. All went smoothly and the dairy was looking forward to a repeat performance this year. But this spring the family-owned, Sun Prairie-based dairy was outbid by Dean Foods, a $12 billion company that now controls 57 percent of Wisconsin?s milk market.
This David-versus-Goliath struggle for market visibility is indicative of what is occurring across the state.
Quoted: Peter Carstensen, UW-Madison law professor, and Robert Cropp, UW-Madison professor emeritus in agricultural and applied economics
Defunct investment program for fledgling firms paid off in big way
Wisconsin State Journal
A program that used state tax credits to invest in promising Wisconsin technology businesses has paid for itself several times over, according to a study by Donald Nichols, UW-Madison emeritus professor of economics and public affairs.
Bucyrus chief dug deep for support
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: Mason Carpenter, a business professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Campus Connection: Cornell follows UW’s lead in pressuring Nike
Capital Times
It took awhile, but another institution finally decided to follow the University of Wisconsin-Madison?s lead in putting a little pressure on athletic apparel giant Nike.
Back on April 9, UW-Madison decided to cut ties with Nike due to alleged labor rights abuses at two factories in Honduras. Nike paid UW-Madison nearly $50,000 for the right to use the university?s name or marks — such as Bucky Badger or the “motion W” — on apparel it made during the most recent academic year.
Today’s grads employ new strategies to land jobs in a tight market
Isthmus
Ellen Nordahl was frustrated when she began scoping out the job market in the fall of 2008, at the start of her senior year at the UW-Madison. Like other UW business students, she relied on career services for guidance and job fairs to find potential employers.
Cross country: Milk prices and the future of dairy farms are an enduring question
Capital Times
Something needs to be done, was the conclusion reached by many attendees at the recent dairy forum held in Madison. Not an unusual conclusion in that that same sentiment has been expressed at hearings, meetings and forums held across dairyland for the past 50 years or more.
What was different about this gathering was that it was under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Justice and sponsored by the U.W.-Madison Law School and held at the Memorial Union in Madison, which is not a regular ag meeting place.
Portfolio.com: Madison among nations top 10 mid-sized business markets
Milwaukee Business Journal
The city of Madison has been named the fourth-best mid-sized market for business in the nation, according to a report Wednesday from Portfolio.com.
Madison360: Two years in, UW?s Martin is many things, including careful
Capital Times
It?s been nearly two years since Carolyn ?Biddy? Martin left as provost at Cornell University to become chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A scholar in German literature with her Ph.D. from UW-Madison, Martin made the rounds in the summer of 2008, including here at The Cap Times, describing her vision for leading a world-class research university and sharing a bit of her personal story, playfully revealing herself as a low-profile Yankees fan here in the heartland.
Today, Martin readily reflects on themes where she sees progress since she came. But in a wide-ranging interview at the chancellor?s near west side residence last week, she seemed loath to frame those bullet points in anything resembling personal terms.
Portfolio.com: Madison among nation’s top 10 mid-sized business markets
Milwaukee Business Journal
With a population of 562,065, Madison is the sole non-Western market in the top five. Its economic pillars are the University of Wisconsin and the state government. The local unemployment and poverty rates are among the smallest in the nation and it ranks in the top five in the number of management and professional jobs, which tend to pay the highest salaries.
American Girl invites girls to give, customize dolls — and return to the company’s website
Wisconsin State Journal
American Girl is trying to ignite the philanthropic spark in girls with a new campaign to donate $1 million worth of cash and goods to four nonprofit groups.
At the same time, the Middleton company is promoting sales of the custom-designed version of its dolls — with updated and enhanced features — and driving repeat visits to its website, chock-full of games, activities, and an array of products to buy.
“It’s kind of creative, actually,” said Joann Peck, associate professor of marketing with the UW-Madison School of Business.
Neumann says he can create 300,000 jobs
WKOW-TV 27
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Republican candidate for governor Mark Neumann says his goal is to attract 300,000 jobs in 10 years by working closely with University of Wisconsin campuses to attract more businesses and research.
Neumann unveiled his plan to create three “research triangles” that would match expertise on the campuses with businesses that create jobs.
Neumann says his plan can succeed even if the universityâ??s budget is cut as part of his plan to reduce the budgets of all state agencies. His plan even calls for offering a tax break to businesses that create jobs.
Dairy Competition Workshop Provided USDA, DOJ with Insights
Wisconsin Ag Connection
U.S. agriculture and justice officials heard a lot of different concerns about competition within the nationâ??s dairy industry in Madison last week, but one common theme echoed throughout Fridayâ??s workshop was that milk and cheese prices are being influenced by too few at the top. The forum, which is the third in a series of five joint public workshops being held around the nation, was indented to examine competition and regulatory issues in the dairy industry. About 500 people attended the program at the University of Wisconsinâ??s Union Theater.
Dairy Farmers: We’re Being Squeezed Out of Business (WHBL-AM)
Dairy farmers say they are being squeezed out of the business. They say the system that determines what they get paid for milk is badly broken. The farmers came to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Friday for the U.S. Department of Justice hearing on antitrust issues in the dairy industry. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says heâ??s hearing a consistent message now — dairy producers, large and small, are hurting.
DOJ wants to promote fairness in dairy industry (AP)
The federal governmentâ??s top antitrust investigator told hundreds of farmers, lobbyists and others at a hearing Friday that the Department of Justice is keeping close watch on the nationâ??s dairy industry. Assistant Attorney General Christine Varneyâ??s said at the hearing on antitrust issues that the department wants to promote fairness in the dairy industry, which has experienced massive consolidation in recent years. “We are keeping a watchful eye on this industry,” Varney told about 500 people gathered for the daylong hearing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. “We know that dairy farmers are concerned about a lack of choices for buyers as well as how their milk is priced.”
At Madison forum, farmers call for federal probe of dairy industry
Wisconsin State Journal
For all the complex issues raised at Fridayâ??s workshop on competition in the dairy industry, the question at the heart of it was a simple one: What is happening? Thatâ??s how U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., broke it down to a crowd of about 600 at Union Theater on the UW-Madison campus. The event drew farmers, producers, lobbyists, politicians and economists to discuss a dairy industry that has seen rising production costs and massive milk price fluctuations in recent years.
TomoTherapy is radiating optimism
Wisconsin State Journal
TomoTherapy is hoping the sun will shine on the company during the second half of 2010. With several new formats for its specialized cancer treatment radiation technology and the nationâ??s economy trying to emerge from a recession, things could align in TomoTherapyâ??s favor, company officials said. When TomoTherapyâ??s technology, discovered at UW-Madison, hit the market, it was unique.
US regulators examine dairy industry competition (AP)
Aggregate Research Industries
Dairy farmers frustrated with ever-eroding profit margins and possible antitrust violations in the industry will get a chance Friday to voice their concerns to federal regulators in “Americaâ??s Dairyland.”
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney, the departmentâ??s chief antitrust investigator, were scheduled to host the roundtable discussion in Madison, Wis., a state where dairy is a $26 billion a year industry.
Wisconsin Economic Summit Series will kick off in August
Wisconsin State Journal
Business, education and community leaders are planning a series of summits to develop recommendations on how to boost Wisconsinâ??s economy and create more jobs. The summits revive a process that took place from 2000 to 2003, where state business, labor, education and government officials met and talked about boosting the economy. Today, there are still questions about the best ways to do that, said Michael Knetter, Albert Nicholas dean of the Wisconsin School of Business at UW-Madison.
John Peck: Join activities to save family farms Thursday through Saturday
Capital Times
Dear Editor: Did you know that one company (Deans) now controls 40 percent of all conventional fluid milk in the U.S.; that in 2009 farmers received only 97 cents for every $2.99 gallon of milk and less than $1 for every $4.99 pound of cheddar cheese; that in 2008 Dairy Farmers of America was fined $12 million for market manipulation at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, yet the dairy giants continue these same illegal practices today?
Join family farmers, consumer advocates, and others in calling upon the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Justice to take antitrust action now:
Madison360: Is ’emotional heat’ at core of future of news?
Capital Times
Most of you would agree that todayâ??s culture is rife with information overload and relentless distractions, but what, if anything, should that mean for the news business?
Last year, the terrible overall economy combined with a changing business model to produce a deep newspaper industry slump. In 2010, the industry has regained its footing and is eagerly telling its story. Yet for journalists, the print and broadcast trend away from calm objectivity toward an emotional, black-or-white style is unmistakable and provocative.
Quoted: UW-Madison journalism professor James Baughman
Agenda set for dairy competition workshop
Wisconsin State Journal
Topics and speakers have been finalized for Fridayâ??s U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture workshop examining competition in the dairy industry. It is one of five U.S. workshops on agriculture and antitrust enforcement issues. The event will open at 8:45 a.m. with a roundtable discussion featuring U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Christine Varney, assistant attorney general for the Justice Departmentâ??s Antitrust Division. It will be held at the Union Theater, 800 Langdon St., on the UW-Madison campus.
A chance to tell D.C. how to get farm policy right
Capital Times
(Wisconsin dairy farmer Joel) Greeno and other Wisconsin farmers are calling on the Obama administration to aggressively pursue existing lawsuits involving market manipulation and to get serious about enforcing antitrust laws that were designed to protect farmers, consumers and communities from the excesses of corporate speculation and manipulation.
Theyâ??ll get a chance to do so directly this week, at a remarkable antitrust workshop that will be held Friday, June 25, at the UW Memorial Union. One of five workshops around the country sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice, the Madison workshop will focus on consolidation of control over the dairy industry.
Biz Beat: Stadium Bar to limit beer garden crowd
Capital Times
Camp Randall area neighbors who absolutely hate football Saturdays can take a deep breath: The Stadium Bar & Grill has agreed to permanently cap the number of fans who can soak it up in the barâ??s outdoor beer garden.
As part of a conditional use permit to remodel the tavern at 1419 Monroe St., the Stadium Bar has also agreed to limit capacity in the beer garden to 2,416. Indoor capacity is capped at 266.
Politics blog: Barrett slams his opponents on stem cell research
Wisconsin State Journal
Democratic candidate for governor Tom Barrett spoke about his support for embryonic stem cell research, and criticized his competitorsâ?? opposition to it, on Monday during a visit to UW-Madisonâ??s Waisman Center. “This is an institution that can provide huge benefits to the people who live in this society, but it can only do so if we allow it to continue its mission,” Barrett said. “And my concern is that you have candidates for office at the state level… who want to inject politics into science.”
Barrett says he will champion stem cell research
Madison.com
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he will back stem cell research just like Gov. Jim Doyle if heâ??s elected governor. Barrett says itâ??s wrong for opponents of embryonic stem cell research to suggest the work is unethical. Barrett says he will be a champion for stem cell research being done at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and will stand up to attempts by lawmakers to limit it. Barrett spoke after touring the Waisman Clinical Biomanufacturing Facility at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Monday.
State Rep. Tamara Grigsby: UW program a catalyst for green economy
Capital Times
Dear Editor: As Wisconsinâ??s economy continues to show signs of returning vigor, it is important to take stock of the distance we have traveled in a short time. The past two years have been challenging for every state, but Wisconsin has continued moving forward on the path to economic success. Nowhere is this clearer than in the stateâ??s sustainable industries.
Sustainable jobs hold the promise of strengthening our communities, improving our environment, and increasing profits for businesses. However, the question remains how to best prepare a work force to take advantage of these business opportunities. The answer is in programs such as the University of Wisconsinâ??s Sustainable Management Program.
Philips Healthcare to add jobs in Fitchburg
Wisconsin State Journal
Philips Healthcare plans to add 27 employees over the next six to nine months at its radiation oncology business in Fitchburg. Philips currently has 57 employees at 5520 Nobel Drive, where it develops cancer treatment planning software. The technology was developed at UW-Madison.
Doyle to sign pact between California, Wisconsin stem-cell researchers
Wisconsin State Journal
Gov. Jim Doyle will sign an agreement today that is expected to spur collaboration between California stem-cell researchers and those at UW-Madison, the governorâ??s office announced Wednesday. No specific research projects or funding have yet been identified for researchers from California and UW-Madison.
Cellular Dynamics, Promega to collaborate on tests – JSOnline
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Cellular Dynamics International and Promega Corp. have entered into a research collaboration to develop toxicity tests for drug developers that use stem-cell derived heart cells. The companies, both based in Madison, said the collaboration has potential to provide pharmaceutical company researchers with more predictive data, driving the development of safer and more effective drugs. Cellular Dynamics was founded by stem cell pioneer James Thomson and several other UW-Madison researchers
Promega, Cellular Dynamics collaborate on project
Wisconsin State Journal
Two prominent Dane County biotechnology companies are collaborating on a research project whose goal is to improve and speed up the drug discovery process. Human heart stem cells derived from adult tissue by Cellular Dynamics International, Madison, were combined with the testing technology platform developed by Promega Corp., Fitchburg. Cellular Dynamics was started in 2004 by UW-Madison stem cell pioneer James Thomson.
Root for more risk-takers
Wisconsin State Journal
Itâ??s a shining example of UW-Madison research leading to a big idea that attracts tens of millions of dollars in private investment to create good-paying jobs right here in Wisconsin. Itâ??s Virent Energy Systems, which last week announced that investors had pumped an additional $46.4 million into the Madison company. All told, Virent has now attracted $116 million in funding since it was founded in 2002 by UW-Madison chemical engineering professor James Dumesic and former UW-Madison researcher Randy Cortright, who now serves as Virentâ??s chief technical officer.
Campus Connection: U.S. on â??collision course with future’
Capital Times
An analysis of jobs data released Tuesday by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce suggests the United Statesâ?? economy is in trouble due to a contrast in the skills needed for jobs of the future and the educational credentials of the next generation of workers.
Enterprise Zone keeps jobs in check
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
University of Wisconsin-Madison economist Andy Reschovsky said most of the basic assumptions used in the report were reasonable. The big question, he said, is whether the incentives were always needed. “Itâ??s very difficult, if not impossible, to provide definitive answers,” Reschovsky said.
Downtown towers project aims to pair hotel with student housing
Wisconsin State Journal
Would you sleep more peacefully in a hotel near a busy airport, or next door to the bone-rattling thump and thrum of stereo subwoofers in a student high-rise?
The jet engines are louder, believe it or not, but neither noise problem requires rocket science for a solution, says the architect designing twin 12-story towers â?? one hotel and one student apartment building â?? in Downtown Madison.
Biz Beat: The rich are rich again
Capital Times
Hereâ??s to UW-Madison professor Tim Smeeding for his comments to the LA Times about the wealthy rebounding quickly from the Great Recession while the rest of us continue to struggle.
Smeeding, a national expert on poverty and income equality, was given top line quote in a story showing the wealth gap again widening.
Barrett calls himself the pragmatist in governor race
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Saturday there is a “substance gap” between him and his Republican opponents for governor because he is the only one to have issued detailed plans on creating jobs and slimming down the state budget. Barrett raised a new issue in his convention speech, saying he supported embryonic stem cell research at the University of Wisconsin and said the two Republicans want to “shut that science down.”
Madison biotech company awarded federal grant
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
BioPulping International, a Madison biotechnology company that is developing a commercial application for pretreating wood chips and other biomass material for pulping, has received a $400,000 federal grant. The phase II grant, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Small Business Innovative Research program, is for a sulfite pretreatment process to convert wood chips to bioethanol. The work will be conducted in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service, the Forest Products Laboratory, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and some key industrial partners, including Lignotech, Zeachem, and Catchlight Energy – a Chevron company.
Executive Q&A: Nancy Peckham, offering insights on telecommunications
Wisconsin State Journal
Ever wonder if your business is spending more than necessary on the basic expenses of telephone, data and Internet services? Thatâ??s where Valicom Corp., Fitchburg, comes in.Founded nearly 20 years ago by Nancy Peckham, Valicom analyzes clientsâ?? telecom costs and recommends ways to make them more efficient and less expensive. A Brookfield native, Peckham earned a bachelorâ??s degree in psychology from UW-Madison and began working in the telecommunications industry just as it was shaking up, with deregulation spurring a flurry of competition followed by a trail of mergers and acquisitions.
Haney to retire as Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce president
Wisconsin State Journal
The president of Wisconsinâ??s largest business group plans to retire. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce issued a statement Thursday saying 65-year-old Jim Haney, the groupâ??s president and chief executive officer, intends to step down in 2011.
Laptop City Hall: Risky business — Bio-ag incubator proposal prompts debate on development risk and city funding
Capital Times
From watching the discussion of the proposed BioLink business incubator at Mondayâ??s Board of Estimates meeting and Wednesdayâ??s Madison Development Corporation board meeting, itâ??s almost as if the people involved were talking about two completely different projects.
At Mondayâ??s meeting with city officials, the tone was tense, with strong advocates and skeptics weighing the proposalâ??s economic development potential with the risks in relaxing another requirement of the cityâ??s financial aid policy for it.
The BioLink incubator is a proposal for the cityâ??s southeast side that would bring 31,000 square feet of specialized incubator space for fledgling bio-agriculture businesses, including shared lab and greenhouse space.
FluGen to develop new class of antiviral drugs
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
FluGen Inc. has gotten rights from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation to further develop a new class of antiviral drugs with the potential to stop viruses after a patient has been infected, the Madison start-up said Tuesday morning.
Madison company gets OK to test new antiviral drugs
Wisconsin State Journal
FluGen, a Madison company that specializes in technology to prevent and treat flu viruses, said Tuesday it has gained rights from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation to a new class of antiviral drugs with a wider time window for therapeutic action. The technology was developed at UW-Madison and patented through WARF.
Madison company moves closer to commercial plant to make fuel from sugars
Wisconsin State Journal
Virent Energy Systems is ready to rev up hiring and research and move closer to selling its biofuel to the public now that investors have pumped another $46.4 million into the Madison company. Virent converts plant sugars from beets, corn and sugar cane into fuel that has the same molecular structure as gasoline; it would be blended with petroleum-based gas for up to a 50/50 mixture. Eventually, the company wants to use non-food agricultural residues for its biofuel. With the latest funding round, Virent has attracted more than $116 million since the company was founded in 2002, based on UW-Madison research.
National economist at Madison conference forecasts slow economic recovery
Wisconsin State Journal
Even as the recession recedes, most parts of the country are still seeing a “slow recovery out of a large hole,” according to a national economic expert at a housing conference Friday at UW-Madison. A quicker, stronger bounceback is unlikely, said David Altig, senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Thatâ??s because the recovery remains restrained by high unemployment, nervous retailers, only modest growth in construction and other industries and household wealth still way below pre-recession levels.”We have a long, long way to go,” Altig said. “Slow and steady goes the race.”
About the conference (Wisconsin State Journal)
The housing conference was sponsored by the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at UW-Madisonâ??s School of Business, the Wisconsin Realtors Association, the state Department of Commerce, the Wisconsin Bankers Association and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.
Semba Biosciences building on early success
Wisconsin State Journal
A group of biotech employees in Madison who used to work for EMD Chemicals, formerly Novagen, a company that made test kits used for scientific research, were snapped up by Semba Biosciences. Semba develops scientific equipment that helps purify substances used for purposes such as drug development and research, and for the food industry. The prototype for Sembaâ??s Octave system was developed by Anil Oroskar, a UW-Madison chemical engineering graduate who founded Semba.